Various types of electronic article surveillance (EAS) systems are known having the common feature of employing a marker or tag which is affixed to an article to be protected against theft from a controlled area, such as merchandise in a store. When a legitimate purchase of the article is made, the marker can either be removed from the article, or converted from an activated state to a deactivated state. Such systems employ a detection arrangement, commonly placed at all exits of a store, and if an activated marker passes through the detection system, it is detected by the detection system and an alarm is triggered.
Such electronic detection arrangements, as used in the present invention, are well known in the art and are more clearly discussed in my co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/410,486, titled “Article Surveillance Tag Having a Metal Clip,” filed on Apr. 8, 2003, which is incorporated herein by reference. In addition, the locking mechanism and removal tool, as used in the instant invention, are also well known in the art and are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,588,280 to Martin A. J. Marens and U.S. Pat. No. 3,911,534 to Henry J. Martens et al. which disclosures are incorporated herein by reference for a complete understanding of the locking device employed in the present invention. A discussion of the inventions in the field, known to the inventor, and their differences from the present invention is provided below.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,911,534 and 3,974,581 to Henry J. Martens et al. disclose a security tag having the pin contained on a first strip that is attached by a hinge to a second strip that has the locking component thereon. The hinged attachment may lead to the bending of the pin when contacting the locking component because of the predetermined arc that it must travel as a result of the hinged arrangement. Furthermore, the hinged arrangement allows the pin to protrude vertically when the device has fallen to the floor and may lead to injury. The '534 and '581 patents also disclose a pin soldered to a chain at one end and the other end of the chain riveted to the tag cover. The riveting of the chain on the outside of the tag body may subject the tag easy defeat by unscrupulous individuals. Furthermore, the pin thereof will protrude vertically when the device has fallen to the floor and may lead to injury.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,932,918 to Paskert discloses a releasably attachable clip for attachment to certain cloth articles, wherein the pin component is incorporated into the tag. However, the pin once again is held in a substantially hinged relation to the locking component and may lead to bending of the pin as a result of the arc which must be traveled in order to engage the locking component. Furthermore, the '918 patent may only be used with articles made of cloth and cannot engage solid components as disclosed in the instant invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,942,829 to Humble et al. discloses a security tag having the pin contained on a first strip that is attached by a hinge to a second strip that has the locking component thereon. The hinged attachment may lead to the bending of the pin when contacting the locking component because of the predetermined arc that it must travel as a result of the hinged arrangement. In addition, the hinged arrangement allows the pin to protrude vertically when the device has fallen to the floor and may lead to injury. Furthermore, the '829 patent may only be used with articles made of cloth and cannot engage solid components as disclosed in the instant invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,535,130 to Nguyen et al. discloses a complex electronic tag having visual and audible alarm systems incorporated into the tag body itself. The tag also incorporates a lanyard that is made of an electrical circuit wire that will cause an audible or visual alarm in the tag body to be activated should the lanyard be cut. The Nguyen device, however, uses a traditional independent pin having a head to attach the lanyard to an article, thereby possibly leading to work place injuries when the pin is dropped on the floor. Furthermore, the electrical components incorporated into each tag make the manufacture and use thereof cost prohibitive.
The prior art does not address the need for an integrated EAS tag that is difficult to defeat and easy to use. In addition, the prior art fails to provide a theft deterrent tag assembly that incorporates the pin, a lanyard and the tag body into one unit. Therefore, there remains a long standing and continuing need for an advance in the art of EAS and theft deterrent tags that makes the tags more difficult to defeat, simpler in both design and use, more economical and efficient in their construction and use, and provide a more secure engagement of the article.